This anthology spans almost a thousand years of Gaelic verse, bringing together for the first time the poetry from the millennium c.600–1600 AD, when Scotland shared its rich culture with Ireland.
It includes a huge range of rich and diverse poetry: prayers and hymns of Iona, lays of Finn, praise poems and satires from the drinking halls of chiefs, courtly songs and lewd rants from the aristocracy, songs of battle and death, poems of love, and incantations. All poems appear with facing-page translations which capture the spirit and beauty of the originals, and each poem is accompanied by critical information about the piece itself, the poet and the historical context of his or her work.
The entire collection is prefaced by a comprehensive introduction which includes a history of Gaeldom and the Gaelic language in Scotland, as well as an analysis of the role and functions of poetry in Gaelic society.
Meg Bateman was born in Edinburgh and studied Gaelic at Aberdeen University. She is well-known as a poet in her own right. She currently lives on Skye and teaches at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Wilson McLeod teaches in the Department of Scottish Studies and Celtic at Edinburgh University.
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